Suicide rates of cervical cancer patients in the United States – Who is most at risk? A retrospective study of 69,493 patients

Abstract

Objective

This study aims to identify demographic and treatment factors associated with suicide risk among cervical cancer patients in the United States.

Methods

Data were obtained from the SEER database (2000–2020). Women with cervical cancer and follow-up time were included. Demographics and treatment history for women who died by suicide were compared to those who did not using chi-square tests. Suicide rates were compared to age-matched U.S. WHO 2019 data with the Mantel-Haenszel test. Univariate logistic regression estimated odds ratios for suicide risk, and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis examined overall survival (excluding suicide) by demographic and treatment factors. Linear regression assessed the link between time from diagnosis to treatment and time from diagnosis to suicide.

Results

Among 69,493 cervical cancer patients diagnosed from 2000 to 2020, most were White (75.9 %), aged 30–49 (46.4 %), lower-middle income (52.0 %), from metropolitan counties (88.0 %), and had localized disease (35.0 %). Fifty-eight patients died by suicide, with a suicide risk 8.8 times higher than the general population. Younger age groups (15–29 and 30–49) had the highest risk, being 18.9 and 11.2 times more likely to die by suicide, respectively. Suicide risk was significantly associated with age, ethnicity, stage, year of diagnosis, and chemotherapy, with highest risk in younger, Non-Hispanic, localized stage, diagnosed from 2000 to 2005, and no chemotherapy (p < 0.05). Delayed treatment correlated with shorter time from diagnosis to suicide (R² = 0.124; p = 0.015).

Conclusions

Suicide rates are significantly elevated among cervical cancer patients, especially in young, Non-Hispanic patients with localized disease and no chemotherapy. Delayed treatment was linked to shorter time to suicide, emphasizing the need for targeted mental health support.